


(It's going to be) Epic

by ThoseDaysThatWill



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, M/M, POV Alternating, Really really slow burn, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-11-23 11:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18151478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoseDaysThatWill/pseuds/ThoseDaysThatWill
Summary: Tyler, a well known actor, and Jamie, an award winner, are cast in the same movie. Sparks fly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunshineandrainbowsonly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineandrainbowsonly/gifts).



> This was a prompt that I 'borrowed'. I tried to keep it somewhat (slightly?) tied to reality, see if you can spot the parallels. I don't presume to have a clue how the movie industry works. We're here for the pairing, I hope, not for the facts. 
> 
> All errors are my own, but please be kind if you spot them.

About six or seven times a year, Tyler’s agent sent him a script with the promise that _this_ one would be the one that finally mattered. He wrote notes, pointing out all the aspects of the story that would show off his talents, the assortment of costars that would help him shine. This would be the one he was looking for. They never were. Sometimes he accepted it anyway, most of the time he turned them down. Not that they were bad, they just weren’t right. Someone else could take them and run with them maybe, but the best he would get were a few nice reviews and a seven-figure paycheck. That wasn’t enough, he wanted more. He couldn’t put into words exactly what that elusive ‘more’ was that he wanted, but he’d know it when he saw it. And he hadn’t seen it yet.

When he was eighteen, he starred in a blockbuster movie. A summer release that became one of those movies that people could quote in conversation because everyone had seen it. Highest grossing box office numbers at the time, always there on top 100 movies lists. He hadn’t made enough off of it, honestly, because he was young and dumb and took a salary instead of all the percentages that he required in a contract now. But it had shot him into superstardom. Everyone knew his name, either from the movies or the tabloids. That wasn’t ego, that was just the truth, he was a big name. He didn’t audition anymore. Producers sent him scripts and hoped he’d accept them. They asked him what his numbers were, what his requirements were, who he wanted to work with.

He could make pretty much whatever movie he wanted. He could experiment with things that were a little strange, and because he was him, they’d at least do okay, where they would have bombed with another lead. He could play a villain and people would find ways to sympathize with him. And yet, there was one thing he didn’t have. Yes, he’d starred in a ‘Best Picture’ winner, but that wasn’t enough. He tried to tell himself the lack of a single stupid award didn’t mean he wasn’t a good actor, or he wasn’t worthy of his fame. But he couldn’t always talk himself into believing it. He _wanted_ it. More than anything.

~

Unsurprisingly, exactly no one in Hollywood cared one ounce about Jamie’s degree in Theatre from the University of British Colombia. No one cared about the roles he’d played on stages across his native country. That wasn’t experience, he was told. That didn’t count in film, he was told. Come back later, during open auditions, he was told. That was as good as a brush off. He didn’t have the kind of look that got him noticed in a sea of hundreds or thousands of guys trying for the same role. And he didn’t know people who knew people. So, he did commercials and bit parts and TV guest spots, and kept trying.

He did have an agent, though. He never honestly knew the full details of how he was given an audition for the movie, and he really didn’t want to know. Because according to everyone that he had talked to before that moment, he didn’t deserve it. But the script was the best thing he’d ever read, and he put absolutely everything into the audition. He heard the director say, later, that he wanted the story not the stars to speak for the movie, that’s why he had chosen that unknown to lead it. And the story did speak. But, so did the critics, and suddenly everyone was talking about that unknown actor that had come out of nowhere.

The idea that he would have even been nominated for the award didn’t cross his mind. It was his first role that could have even been considered leading, and he wasn’t completely sure if he had really been the lead. Yes, he had a lot of screen time. And yes, it had been an extremely emotional and heart-wrenching movie to watch. His competition were names that everyone knew, and he was still described as “Canadian actor” in articles so people would understand why they’d never heard his name before. And yet, there he was, standing at the microphone, trying to remember all the names of people that deserved his thanks, when all he could think was that the statuette was a lot lighter than he expected it to be.

~

“I know you’ve shied away from this kind of script, but…” His agent’s voice trailed off.

Tyler sighed. That ‘but’ meant that he wanted his cut of a big paycheck, _but_ Tyler wasn’t going to want to do the movie. He settled on his couch, knowing well that this was going to be a long talk. One of his dogs wandered over to him, looking for attention. He stroked his fur absently as he talked. “Tell me about it.”

“It’s historical.”

So far, so good. Tyler had done a bunch of historicals and he had fun with them, he liked playing around with different eras of weapons, from swords to muskets. He liked to keep moving and fight scenes were good for that. The costumes could be uncomfortable, but he could pull it off. And that kind of movie always guaranteed at least one shirtless scene, which he didn’t mind. He didn't work out to keep his shirt on all the time. “And?”

“You’d probably get a sword. Or axe. Or something like that.”

Tyler rolled his eyes, “ _Brett!_ Tell me what I’m not gonna like or I’m hanging up.”

He took in a deep breath, “It’s going to be epic. _Big_ budget, costumes, sets, the whole nine yards. It’s a take-off of Gilgamesh, they’re saying. You probably read that in school." He didn't pause for confirmation or a laugh, "You know, a king who is kind of a bastard, but it’s because he’s lonely. So, his subjects pray to the gods to send him, y’know, _someone_. And they do, but he’s wild. And he gets tamed and then they go off adventuring together. And kill this huge beast. And one dies. And the other one mourns the hell out of him for pretty much ever. Credits roll.”

Silence.

“Tyler? You still there?”

“Yeah… I’m here.” He paused, taking a drink from the can he’d found on the end table. He made a face, warm flat beer was beyond even him. “Which part do they want me for?”

“The wild man. There’s a lot of range to it, from being in the woods, to being the—”

Tyler cut him off, “So far, I like this. You're hiding something. What’s the catch?”

“Well…they’re going full gay.”

“What?”

“People have read gay into the story for pretty much ever, but this one goes… full gay. No allusions, or anything. That’s what’s going to make this movie the talk of everyone. Huge budget movies like this don’t usually make the statement, but this one is. But they’re not marketing it as a ‘gay story’, it’s not Brokeback anything. It’s partly a CGI-monster movie, partly a costume adventure whatever. They’re treating it like any other huge moneymaking summer blockbuster, but… just gay.”

Tyler considered this for a moment. He hadn’t been shy about his personal life. All the paparazzi didn’t bother him, they were just doing what the fans wanted. He let them take whatever pictures they needed, regardless of how clothed or drunk he was. When he was asked in an interview what exactly his sexuality was, he had said ‘yes’. He let them take that as they wanted to. It didn’t matter to him. He had dated—or slept with—people who looked good to him, he didn’t care what parts they were sporting. That had been an issue with his ex, but that was why he was his ex.

“I’m in.”

“Yeah? Great! I’ll send the script over to you by courier. They’ll want—”

“Who is playing the other guy?”

“Some barely-known. Don’t worry about it, Ty, it’s your movie. This is going to be huge for you.”

Tyler nodded slowly, more to himself than to Brett. “I _know_.”

~

Jamie stared at the pile of papers on his kitchen table. A courier had hand-delivered the envelope, from his agent. The note included said that the producers wanted him to read it, because they had him in mind for the lead. It said that they had asked for him because they liked his work. His _work_. That made Jamie laugh. He had done one movie that anyone had seen. What they meant was that they liked that people were talking about him right now. They liked that they could toss around the phrase ‘Oscar-winning actor’ on the promos.

He had read the first couple pages and then re-read the note. The lead? Was he supposed to know what that meant? If he read the whole thing, would it make itself clear what they meant? Despite the fact he was alone in his kitchen, he was still trying to act like he’d been there before. He picked up the packet of papers and wandered over to his couch. He’d have to at least read it before he called his agent to ask questions. He picked up a previously abandoned glass of wine and sipped as he read.

It was well into the afternoon by the time he had the phone pressed to his ear, listening to it ring. He’d read the script twice and he was almost positive his agent had sent it to the wrong person. He had gone so far as to check to see if his name was really on the front of the envelope.

“Jamie! I’ve been waiting for your call. So, what do you think?”

He took in a deep breath, “I don’t know about this, Katie.”

“I had a feeling you would worry about it. It's going to be epic. It’s a _huge_ budget movie, big sets, costumes, tons of promotion. Everyone is going to be talking about this movie before it even comes out. It’s going to be the biggest hit of the summer, they’re thinking it’s going to break box office totals by a lot. And I’ve got some really nice numbers on your contract. We can talk about that when you come by, but you’ll be _set_. You could even go back to your stage stuff for a little while, if you wanted.”

Jamie sighed, “It’s not the money. I just… what part do they want me for?”

She laughed, “The _king_! I told you, the lead. You’ll be perfect. You’ll get to show off your range of emotions, all your training. That’s really your thing, and this is perfect. You’d go from all serious and kind of an asshole—I know that’ll be a challenge—to bonding with another person, and then all dramatic at the end. I’d tell you it’s Oscar-bait, but you’re used to that.”

“I… are they sure?”

“You are the humblest Oscar-winner I’ve ever met. Yes, they’re sure. What do you want me to tell them?”

“Uh…”

She sighed, “Okay, you want to talk about the gay thing, huh?”

“I did notice that. It’s not that I mind it really, I uh…”

“Here’s what the producers are telling me. They don’t want to market it as a gay movie. They want to market it as a blockbuster summer movie, with CGI and sets and costumes. The statement they’re trying to make is that it’s not a gay movie, it’s a historical fighting kind of movie. Like Gladiator, or something, but with actual gay, instead of teasing gay. But normal. That’s why I didn’t mention it to you.” She was lying, but Jamie didn’t point that out.

He actually found himself smiling. He knew you could make that kind of statement on stage, but he hadn’t heard of it being done on the silver screen. It meant something to him. It was pretty important, if you asked him. No one, of course, had ever asked him. He had never discussed his personal life and he liked it that way. That section of his Wiki page talked about his siblings, the house he owned back in Canada, the house he bought in California, and the fact that he played chess in middle school, nothing more. He wanted to keep it that way as long as he could.

 “That’s actually…. Uh… That’s good. Right?” He asked, carefully.

He could hear her shrug, “If you think so. It’s going to make press, if they want it or not. But if you don’t care about that, I don’t care.” She paused, “Do you care?”

“No.” Jamie heard the words before he realized he’d spoken them. “Tell them I want to do it.”

“Fantastic. I already did. I knew it was just perfect for you!”

That was part of why he liked having Katie as his agent. If he had tried to back out of it, she would have found a way to talk him back into it. He had a feeling she had a few more good points, that she hadn’t even made yet, ready for him. He wasn’t sure how much she was going to make off this contract, but he had a pretty good idea that’s what she saw in the movie. He saw something else.

“Do you know who will be playing opposite me? Have they cast him yet?” Jamie tried not to seem too eager with the question, the answer wouldn’t have stopped him from taking it, but he was curious.

She sighed, “Yes… and I didn’t tell you until you’d agreed.”

A groan escaped before he could stop it, “How bad?”

“Tyler Seguin.”

This time, Jamie’s groan was planned. He wouldn’t have said he read TMZ as a rule, but he was aware of how much copy space they used on him, it was impossible to miss. It was all about who he had been seen with, what they had been doing, and how little clothing they were wearing. Male or female, it didn’t seem to matter, he’d sit in just about any lap. A picture of someone pouring vodka directly into his mouth, while he was shirtless, had been on every site and tabloid for weeks. His reputation couldn’t have been more different than Jamie’s if they had planned it. He supposed that worked, for the movie, but it made him worry what it meant for filming.

“Is this going to be a problem?” She asked.

“No, of course not.” He just hopped that was the truth.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days after he had received it, Jamie had read the script a dozen times. The last four times, it was done with a pencil in his hand. Writers were writers because they were good at writing, but that didn’t mean they were good at speaking. That was what an actor did. Which meant sometimes, when you said a line out loud, it sounded weird. Jamie had made note of those lines, penciling in his suggestions on how they could be better. Small reminders of things he wanted to talk to the director about dotted the margins, most of the ending in question marks.

The more he read it, the more excited he was to film the movie. If he had read the original in school, he didn’t remember it. He didn’t figure any English teacher he would have had back then would have taken quite this spin on it anyway. He made a note on his ‘to do’ list to get a copy of the original. He figured he’d have some downtime on set to read it.

Wandering into his kitchen, vaguely aware he hadn’t eaten lunch yet, he passed his open laptop. He couldn’t believe how fast word got out that he had accepted the role. He’d lost track of how many interview requests he already had. Katie had taken to sending him a daily summary of who sent her requests, asking him to pick at least a few by next week. They were going to start the media early, there were already teaser posters being created. It seemed too soon, to him, but that wasn’t his job. He also had received a contact sheet for the primary players. It was that email that was open now and staring at him. This was his job. He knew what he should do, but the thought of it made his stomach knot up.

The pinot noir in his glass was not strong enough to steel his nerves, but his sense of ‘doing the right thing’ was. He slowly entered the numbers into his phone and hit send. It shouldn’t have surprised him that Tyler not only had a ringback tone, but that it was loud and abrupt. He couldn’t place the song, but that didn’t surprise him either. He held the phone away from his ear until he heard the music stop.

_Hey, I missed the call. I usually do. You should probably just text me. Or you can leave a message. Up to you._

He sighed, “Hi. Uh, this is Jamie Benn. We’re, uh, going to be working together, so I thought…” What the hell had he been thinking? Suddenly he had no clue. “Uh, I thought we could get together and, uh…. Talk or something. So, you, uh, have my number now. Give me a call.” Mercifully, he hung up.

~

Tyler hadn’t realized that his phone rang until the voicemail alert popped up. He couldn’t remember the last time he had it off vibrate. The ringing of this phone always set his dogs off, needlessly. Anyone that he wanted to talk to knew to text first, then call. Anyone that didn’t do that, was probably someone that got the number through illegal means or a telemarketer. He didn’t recognize the number that left a message, but he pressed play anyway. Unknown number calls were bound to happen for a little while after signing a new contract, before he got the important numbers listed in his contacts.

Of course, he recognized Jamie’s name the moment he heard it. _He_ was what Brett was calling ‘a barely-known’?! He had won an Oscar last year! That’s not barely known! That’s damn near well known. Maybe he wasn’t a household name, but anyone in the biz knew about him sweeping in from out of nowhere and snagging the prize in his first major movie. Tyler flipped through his contacts, about to dial up Brett to give him a piece of his mind for skipping over a detail as important as that one! How was this supposed to be his movie when his co-star had just won an Oscar?! But his put his phone down.

He knew that yelling at him wasn’t going to do anything but give Brett a chance to point out that Tyler would have taken the part even if he had known that Jamie Benn was his co-star. And he was right. The last thing Tyler wanted to do was admit Brett was right about anything. But it was true, that guy wasn’t going to scare him away from a role as good as that one. He’d read the script and he knew the splash this movie was going to make. Yeah, maybe he wasn’t playing the king, but he had the better lines and more emotions to play with. Everyone was going to be talking about this movie, and that meant they’d be talking about him. And for something he had created, work he had put in, not for who or what he was doing off the screen.

He glanced down at his phone. The guy had called him, the least he could do was repay the favor. Besides, he was curious about him. He’d never heard an Oscar-winner sounding so unsure and awkward, he had to know if it was genuine.

“Hello?”

“Hey, this is Tyler. I got your message. I’m pretty bad about answering my phone. But yeah, I’d like to meet up.”

Silence. Tyler almost checked to see if the call was still connected, then Jamie spoke, “Great. Yeah. Uh… when?”

Tyler couldn’t help the chuckle. This guy was supposed to be the next big thing? He had seen the movie same as everyone else, and he’d been impressed. But _this_ guy didn’t sound like _that_ guy. His voice was soft, he seemed kinda slow, and he paused way too long between words. “I’m not busy right now. You can swing by here whenever you want.”

Silence. Then, “Sure. Uh, about an hour? Can you text me your address?”

“Yeah.” A woof by his sliding glass door forced Tyler up off the couch. He grabbed a tennis ball from under a chair and tossed it out across the grass. Marshall might not have been as young as he once was, but he still bound after his prey as if he were a puppy, barking happily. The call rallied his two brothers to chase down the tennis ball with him. Tyler stepped aside as they both burst through the doorway after him, barking loudly.

 “You have a dog?” Jamie asked.

Tyler laughed, “Yeah, three.” After who he was ‘dating’ at any given moment, the thing the paparazzi liked to take pictures of were him and his dogs. And he posted pictures of them more than anything else on his own social media. That Jamie had no idea about that made Tyler wonder what rock he had been living under. By this time, one of his dogs had made his way back to the steps where Tyler was sitting, leaning against him to get a snuggle, “You wanna say hi, Gerry?” He laughed at the responding woof. He swore they understood him perfectly.

“That’s, uh, great. I had a lab growing up, but… I, uh, I’ve moved too much since then.”

Tyler couldn’t miss the note of sadness in Jamie’s voice and it was surprised that it bothered him. “Lab, huh? That’s what I’ve got. All three of ‘em. They’re crazy guys, but they’re family, y’know?”

Jamie laughed and Tyler didn’t like one bit how his spine reacted to that. “Yeah, I know. I’m looking forward to meeting them, too. Do you want me to bring anything?”

“For my dogs?” The words came out before Tyler realized they were stupid. On the upside, Jamie laughed again and that feeling hit the base of his spine again. It didn’t help the stupid feeling, but it did help with something else. Tyler forced his own laugh to show that he had been joking when in reality he had just been stupid. “Yeah, no, that’s cool. We can get something delivered if you’re hungry.”

“Um, okay. That’s fine with me.” Jamie paused, “Do you, um, like wine?”

It was Tyler’s turn to be silent. The fuck? His first reaction was to tell him that a bottle of vodka works a lot faster, but something told him that wasn’t what Jamie had meant. He wasn’t sure at what point he got that voice that told him these things, but he wondered if it was around the time he decided calling Jamie back was a good idea. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out what the correct answer to that question was. He didn’t have a clue if he liked wine, but he wasn’t about to admit that to someone that would ask the question.

“Uh… sure. I guess.” He rolled his eyes. That sounded just as stupid as the dog question. What was happening to him? He needed to get the fuck out of his phone call as fast as possible. “So… around three?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you then. Don’t forget to text me the address.” Jamie sounded more confident, he noticed, in direct proportions with how stupid Tyler felt.

“Yeah, I will. Later.” He pressed the end button and actually tossed his phone onto the couch, as if it being further away from him could negate the feelings that call produced. It didn’t help.

~

Jamie looked at his phone for a full minute after he hung up. No text came. That wasn’t a good sign, he knew already. He wasn’t going to say anything yet. He probably didn’t live an hour away, it’d be fine. He didn’t need to worry about this at all. They were colleagues that were meeting over a movie. There was nothing to think about anything, like the tone of his voice when he talked to his dog, and how easily he laughed. Jamie wasn’t thinking about that at all. He nearly dropped his phone when it rang.

“Jeeze, Jordie, the phone just scared me! This better be important!”

He snorted a laugh, “Uh, sorry if your own phone scares you, but that sounds like a personal problem to me.”

Jamie rolled his eyes. His brother may not have been able to see it, but he’d know he did it anyway. “Oh, shut up. What do you want?”

“I heard a rumor that you are a fucking asshole.”

Jamie paused a second, “This is a new one. Why exactly am I an asshole?”

“You signed a _huge_ contract to do a _huge_ movie and you didn’t fucking call me! I had to _read_ about it!”

He sighed, “Yeah, sorry about that. I haven’t called Mom and Dad either. I just… I don’t know. I’ve been wrapped up in reading the script and I haven’t really talked to anyone.”

“Okay, yeah, but I’m not _anyone_. And the rumors also say you’re gonna be sucking face with Tyler Seguin.”

Jamie groaned, “That was classy.”

“You know me, I’m all class. But _is_ that true?”

“Yes, he’s playing opposite me. I was just talking with him on the phone. He seems… nice enough.”

Jordie burst out laughing, “Nice? That’s _not_ what the rumors say about him. They say he’s a big ol’ slut. And a party boy. And a lot of fun, if you judge by the pictures. He’s got a dog that looks kinda like Maddy, though. But he’s _totally_ not your type. At all.”

“Thanks, Jord. That’s really… helpful.” Jamie dropped down onto his couch with a sigh, “I know about his reputation. But… he’s a good actor. I hope the rest of that will stay in his personal life, and that doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

Jordie snorted a laugh, “Maybe you’ll finally get _laid_.”

“I am _not_ sleeping with my co-star! Especially not him. He’s…” Jamie wasn’t exactly sure how to finish that sentence. He didn’t know him, really, except that he had a nice voice. A lot of actors had nice voices, it was part of the training. The nice laugh was something else. Whatever exactly it was, he had no plans to discuss it with his brother.

“Yeah, according to TMZ, he sure as hell is.” Jordie laughed at his own joke. “But like when was the last time you got laid? It was during filming of your movie, right? Whatever happened to that guy? You know the Finnish one? You and he were pretty hot and heavy, right?”

Jamie sighed yet again, “ _Swedish_. He moved to the east coast and I haven’t heard from him. It wasn’t anything, anyway.” The last thing he wanted to do was get into _that_ again. It had been a difficult situation when they wrapped filming. Then he hadn’t so much as received a congratulations after the awards show. He had pushed him out of his mind a year ago. Leave it to Jordie to bring him back up. “Look, I have to go, I’m meeting Tyler soon.”

Jordie knew when he stepped in it, and his voice showed that, “Yeah, no problem. Have fun.”

Jamie hung up and was about to toss his phone aside when he saw the text notification pop up. It was Tyler apologizing for forgetting to text. That was promising. He texted back a thank you and headed into his kitchen. He opened the cabinet beside his fridge. He only had a couple nice bottles in there, but he doubted Tyler would actually know the difference. Jamie’s mother had always said you don’t go to someone’s house emptyhanded; it was rude. He picked a sweeter red that he preferred and tried hard not to overthink it.

As he walked to the door, he purposefully kept his eyes on his phone and off the mirror in the hallway. He’d done his hair this morning, it was fine. Besides, he was meeting a colleague, and nothing more. It didn’t matter how his hair looked or what he was wearing or anything else that was going through his mind. He plugged his phone into his car, with Maps open. He let the music drown out his thoughts, buckled the bottle into the seat beside him, and hit the road.


	3. Chapter 3

The house was exactly what he expected Tyler Seguin’s house to look like. Jamie tried not to judge him based on that, but knowing he was a single guy, the house was just _too much_. Jamie’s own house was really too much for him and it wasn’t nearly this. _This_ house looked like it had rooms with themes, and an unnecessarily over-decorated pool out back. He stopped at the security gate and pressed the call button on the panel, then waited to hear the click of the gate unlocking. He took a deep breath, to calm nerves that he didn’t want to acknowledge, and drove through.

He left his car parked in front of one of the garage doors and headed for what seemed to be the front door, wine bottle in hand. He tried not to think about how incredibly out of place his car looked. He hadn’t bought a splashy car, even when he found he had the money to do so. Maybe California didn’t get much snow, but in his Canadian brain, those things were just so impractical. He had a feeling Tyler owned a couple of them.

In response to the doorbell, Jamie could hear a chorus of barks. The barks seemed to fade as he stood there, wondering if he was supposed to ring the bell again, or just wait. What was in reality only seconds, seemed like hours as he shifted from foot to foot, waiting.

Tyler pulled the door open, his other hand barely keeping hold of the collar of a yellow lab that clearly wanted to protect him from whoever dared to ring the bell. He gave Jamie a sheepish grin, “Sorry, he’s not usually like this. Come in, I’m gonna put him out back real quick.” Tyler hurriedly turned his back on him, nearly dragging the dog towards a sliding glass door.

Jamie could hear that Tyler was talking to the dog, but he couldn’t make out the words. The tone wasn’t angry though, but more like he was trying to reason with the animal. Jamie didn’t want to think about how charming that was. He stood for a moment on the doorstep. Yes, he had said come in, he still felt weird about just walking in. Eventually, he took a few steps inside, closing the door behind him, but he didn’t move from the foyer area.

From the direction Tyler had gone, another dog emerged. This one, though, wasn’t barking or trying to charge him. He sauntered up to Jamie and sniffed. With a smile, Jamie offered his hand to the dog before reaching out to pet his head. Surprised when the dog nuzzled his head against his leg, Jamie crouched down, looking at him face-to-face. He placed the wine bottle on the floor, to give his full attention to the dog. “Jordie was right, you do look like Maddy,” he cooed softly.

“He’s not usually that friendly with strangers. That’s Cash.”

Jamie snapped his head up, wondering how long Tyler had been standing there in the archway watching him. Because he was crouched down, he couldn’t help that his gaze raked up Tyler’s body, but he really didn’t mind having to take the long way up to his face. His jeans fit too well, and he knew how to pick a shirt that never let you forget he had well-toned abs under it. Everything he saw was nice to look at. Including the grin on his lips and the way his messy curls looked like he just woke up. Jamie may have blushed, but he ignored it. That and any other sensations that were beyond his control. He put his focus back on the dog in front of him. _Cash_. He hoped he was named after the country singer, but he was afraid he wasn’t. “Yeah? He looks just like the dog I had growing up.” Giving him a final pat, Jamie stood and took a couple steps towards Tyler. He offered his hand out, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jamie.”

Tyler laughed, and Jamie found it was even worse to hear it in person. “I know.” He shook his hand, a little too hard and a little too long. “I mean I know your name. It’s not actually nice to meet me, usually.” He flashed a grin that he was clearly far too comfortable using to counteract his self-deprecating humor. “But come on in. You want a tour?”

Jamie followed him further into the house, happy to find Cash followed at his side. “If you want.” Honestly, he didn’t want to be shown around Tyler’s ostentation, if he didn’t have to.

Tyler snorted, “I don’t, really. But my mom told me I’m always supposed to offer.”

Jamie grinned. He wasn’t sure why, but that answer made him feel a little more comfortable. “I don’t mind skipping it. If I ever meet your mother, I won’t tell her.”

“Thanks. You want something to drink?”

“Oh, I brought…” Jamie double back to the foyer and picked up the bottle from where he’d left it, “Wine.” He offered the bottle out to Tyler.

Taking it in his hands, he looked at the label with a furrowed brow, “Is this good?”

Jamie nodded, trying not to laugh, “Yes, in my opinion. Wine is really subjective, though.”

Tyler shrugged, “I don’t know the first thing about it. You know how someone will hand you a glass at some event and try to talk about the… whatever fruity, woody whatever it’s supposed to have? I don’t get it. It really is just angry grape juice.”

Jamie did laugh at that, “Angry grape juice?”

He flashed a grin, “That was in a movie I did. But it’s _true_. But I’ll try anything once. Let’s open this up. Kitchen is this way.” He continued to lead him into the house.

Jamie did all he could not to look around, though trailing behind Tyler, it wasn’t difficult to find something else to keep his eyes on.

Tyler left the bottle on the island, pulling a corkscrew from a drawer and sliding it over towards him, “If you’ll open it, I’ll find glasses.” He turned towards the cabinets, “I’m sure I have wine glasses somewhere.”

Jamie put his focus on removing the cork, though he couldn’t fail to notice how reaching up for the top shelf made Tyler’s shirt raise up enough to reveal a strip of skin and the hint of black ink just below his waistline.

Tyler made a triumphant noise and placed two glasses beside the bottle, “You wanna pour?”

He nodded, filling each glass about halfway, “I don’t like really dry wine, personally. This is sort of in the middle, as far as that goes.” He picked up his glass, offering a toast, “To _Epic_.”

Tyler laughed and clinked his glass before taking a sip. He seemed to consider it for a moment. “I hope they change the name by the time it’s released.”

For a second, Jamie thought he was talking about the wine before he was able to make the leap with him, “I was thinking that too. It’s… _eh_.”

Tyler nodded, “Exactly. For a movie like this, it needs more. I’m sure they will.” He gestured to the glass, “This is pretty good, actually.”

Jamie smiled, indulging in a moment of pride, “Thanks.”

“Let’s go sit.” He grabbed the bottle and headed into the next room.

~

Tyler put the bottle on the coffee table and dropped down onto the couch. He gestured that Jamie could take the other half of the couch or the chair beside it. That was playing it cool. Not that Tyler was feeling cool by any stretch of the imagination. He purposefully hadn’t looked up pictures of Jamie before he got there. He’d seen the movie, he had a vague idea of what he looked like, but he was not prepared for what was on the other side of his door.

That he hadn’t said _damn_ the minute he laid eyes on him in person was a personal accomplishment. He was grateful that Gerry had taken his focus by temporarily losing his mind over the sound of the doorbell. But now he didn’t have any distraction to keep him from checking out the man now taking up the other half of his couch. He couldn’t fathom why he’d gel his hair back like that, and he wouldn’t have minded if he’d unbuttoned a few top buttons of his shirt, but otherwise he liked what he was seeing. A lot.

He watched Cash climb up onto the couch between him and Jamie and lay his head and front paws in Jamie’s lap. On one hand, he couldn’t blame him, but on the other he felt a pang of jealousy that his dog was curling up with someone else, a _stranger_. The look of surprise on Jamie’s face helped, but the smile he then gave Cash as he pet him made it go right back to… something else. _What the fuck?!_ This was not how he was planning this visit to go, and it was only ten minutes into it. He would get control of the situation back, somehow.

“So, are you actually gay or do you just play one in the movies?” He asked, with a casual smirk.

Jamie choked on the sip of wine he’d been taking. He looked over to Tyler, more than a little wide-eyed, “Well, _that’s_ direct.”

Tyler was sure he wasn’t supposed to laugh, but that didn’t stop him. Jamie’s honestly shocked expression was charming, and Tyler hadn’t expected that. He ran a hand through his hair to calm himself down, “Sorry?”

Jamie was trying not to smile, but lost the battle, “Are you really?”

“Not at all. Saying what I’m thinking is one of my more endearing qualities.” He flashed another grin.

Jamie ducked his head, putting his focus on Cash, “Then I hate to find out what your _bad_ qualities are.”

“You mean you don’t read my press? They _love_ to talk about all my worst qualities.” Tyler took a drink from the glass in his hand.

He shook his head, “The press doesn’t know anything. You can’t possibly know someone from what they report. Even behind the scenes pieces are carefully staged and filmed not to show too much of who we _really_ are. Fans don’t want their _image_ of people like us ruined by reality.”

Tyler just stared at him. He wasn’t going to judge him based on his past? The kind of guy they said Jamie was would have, but he supposed that just proved his point. “Uh… _yeah_. That’s… _yeah_. I agree.” He caught Jamie’s very brief self-satisfied look before it was hidden by the wine glass. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

Jamie’s eyes fell to watch his own hand glide over Cash’s short fur. “You’re right, I didn’t. I like to keep my private life… separate.”

Tyler snorted a laugh, “Look… there’s not gonna be a whole hell of a lot _private_ between us by the end of this thing. I mean, I don’t think you’re the type to use a body double and I’m sure as fuck not. So…” He shrugged.

Jamie’s cheeks flushed pink, but he did look up at Tyler, “You have a point there.” He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, “Yes. I’ve ever actually _said_ that to anyone. But yes.”

Tyler smiled, “Cool. I’m bi.” He paused, “Or pan. I don’t know the difference, really. I just don’t judge based on…” He gestured vaguely to his own body, “ _Whatever_ is going on in there, y’know?”

Jamie nodded with a little smile, “Yes, I know what you mean.”

“But for you… no chicks at all?”

Jamie frowned, “I _have,_ but it’s just not… my _preference_.”

“But you could get it up?”

Tyler watched Jamie’s facial expressions run through a whole range of emotions before he answered, “I _could_. But I’d rather _not_.”

He chuckled, “Gotcha. My ex wouldn’t get within a mile of a naked woman if he didn’t have to, _contractually_. Everyone’s a little different when it comes to that stuff.” He shrugged, leaning back against the couch, “So… you and that Swedish guy in your movie?”

Jamie’s eyes flashed something for just a second, but Tyler couldn’t place it. There was a big huge _something_ there, but he had no idea if it was a good something or a bad something. And just after it appeared, Jamie hid whatever it was away, then shut and locked the door. “What do you mean?” He asked, his voice impressively neutral.

“You two looked like you had… _chemistry_ …” Tyler offered a waggle of his eyebrows in case he missed the meaning behind the word.

Jamie shrugged, “We were friends. Anything else was _acting_.” There was a note of something in Jamie’s voice when he said that word that gave Tyler the impression that he wasn’t talking about acting on the set at all. He made a mental note of that, but let it drop.

“So… have you heard about any other casting?” Tyler asked. He didn’t miss the grateful look on Jamie’s face, but he didn’t expect it to make him feel… good.

Jamie thought about it for a moment, “Yeah, my agent said they’re in negotiations with Mike Modano.”

“Yeah? That’s cool. Playing the… god guy with all the flood stuff?”

Jamie nodded, “That’s what I’d assume. It can’t hurt to get another big name like that attached to the movie. And it’d be pretty interesting to work with someone that’s done as much as he has.”

Tyler scoffed, “ _You_ get to. I’m already dead by then.”

Jamie laughed, “Yeah, but you’ll be on set. I’ve learned so much just _watching_.”

Cash took that moment to pick his head up, giving Jamie his best mournful look. It was better for both of them that Tyler didn’t get a chance to say what he was thinking. Instead he laughed out loud at Cash’s expression, patting his dog’s back, “He’s not going to feed you.”

Jamie’s smile was tinged with sadness, “He looks _just_ like Maddy, she did exactly the same thing when she was hungry, but usually to my brother. She was really his dog.”

“You should get yourself one.” He looked around, surprised that Cash was the only one that had remembered dinner, only to find Marshall sitting patiently to his left. He hadn’t noticed him walking up at all. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so focused on anything to the point that his dogs didn’t take his attention away immediately. He glanced over to Jamie, that couldn’t be a good thing. He unfolded his legs and stood up, “Come into the kitchen with me while I get their food. You can tell me your life story.”

Jamie laughed as he stood up, too. “Sure. It’s not very interesting. Then you can tell me yours.”

The sexual innuendo comment rose to his lips, but Tyler let it die there, unspoken. Being crude was only going to push Jamie away. And that was the very last thing he found himself wanting to do.


End file.
